A/HRC/38/24 and boys can be engaged as members of a community or society to join efforts to mobilize demand for gender equality and women’s rights or as political, traditional, community, religious or youth leaders to advocate for gender equality and denounce discriminatory social norms, such as harmful practices,12 and misogynist hate crimes and hate speeches. Men can be engaged: as teachers to provide gender-transformative and human rightssensitive education; as health professionals and social workers to deliver public service without discrimination or discriminatory stereotypes; as journalists and media workers to transform negative gender stereotypes in the media; and as workers and business managers to eliminate gender inequality and discrimination against women at work. Men who are in positions of authority, such as members of parliaments, the judiciary, law enforcement and Governments, also play a pivotal role in discharging a State’s legal responsibility towards gender equality and the prohibition of discrimination against women. 8. Importantly, for efforts to engage men and boys to successfully contribute towards a transformative gender-equality agenda, they must be fully informed of the views and experiences of women and girls, respectful of their rights and autonomy and complementary to — and supportive of — women’s rights movements. In fact, women’s organizations, feminist groups and organizations working on the rights of women and girls take the lead in — or partner with — many initiatives to engage men and boys in gender equality issues. In this regard, the Council, in its resolution 35/10, called upon States to fully engage men and boys, alongside women and girls, in achieving gender equality and eliminating violence against women and girls.13 In the same resolution, the Council further recognizes the critical role of women and girls, as well as of women’s and youth organizations and organizations led by women and girls, as agents of change and urges States to meaningfully engage with women and girls as active and equal participants in the planning, design, implementation and monitoring of legislation, policies and programmes, including programmes aimed at engaging men and boys. 14 9. As discussed above, engaging men and boys does not simply mean involving them. Such engagement must lead to gender transformation. While there is no universally agreed definition, the term “gender-transformative approach” in the present report refers to those approaches that promote a shift from gender norms and stereotypes that are based on the idea of the inferiority or superiority of either of the sexes and unequal power relations between them to gender relations that are based on gender equality and respect for human rights.15 Gender-transformative approaches to engaging men and boys also imply changing understanding about masculinity, i.e. how male identities are socially constructed and defined, with a view to challenging dominant and violent types of masculinity. 10. When interventions that focus on men and boys are not gender transformative, they may not only detract from the realization of gender equality or the elimination of genderbased violence against women, but in fact perpetuate and reinforce gender inequality and harmful gender stereotypes. 16 In her report in 2014, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences expressed concern about the trend of setting up specialized men’s organizations to engage men and boys in gender equality issues, observing that many ideologies about the role of men and boys do not focus on women as autonomous beings, disproportionately affected by inequality, discrimination and 12 13 14 15 16 Including child, early and forced marriages, female genital mutilation and honour killings. For more detail, see joint general recommendation No. 31 of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and general comment No. 18 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child. See para. 9 (a). Human Rights Council resolution 35/10, para. 5. See, for example, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, art. 5 (a). See also the advocacy brief of the MenEngage Alliance and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA): “Engaging men, changing gender norms: directions for gender-transformative action”. Available at https://www.unfpa.org/resources/brief-engaging-men-changing-gender-norms. See A/HRC/26/38, paras. 70–75. 5